This Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl is filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and feta and drizzled in a simple, homemade tzatziki sauce, making it a healthy vegetarian meal.
Meatless Mondays should always look like this Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl! It's a delicious way to incorporate quinoa into your diet, and a healthy, gluten free and vegetarian recipe.
Honestly, this recipe couldn't be easier. Once the quinoa is cooked, you'll add the chopped veggies, sprinkle it with cheese and drizzle it with the tzatziki sauce. If you're someone who likes quinoa but doesn't love it, I have a feeling this bowl will change your mind.
Speaking of quinoa, be sure to check out my caramelized onion quinoa and my stuffed zucchini boats. Both are easy, healthy vegetarian recipes that I know you'll love (if you haven't already tried them!).
Recipe features
- An easy bowl recipe to meal prep and make ahead for the week
- Filled with tons of veggies like tomatoes, cucumber and red onion, and easy to customize to your liking
- This Mediterranean quinoa bowl is drizzled with the most delicious homemade "dressing": tzatziki sauce!
Ingredients
Quinoa: This is the base of the bowl, but if you're really not a quinoa fan, try using rice or farro instead. The quinoa can easily be prepped a day or two in advance to speed this recipe up even more!
Tomatoes: Grape or cherry, though you can use any variety.
Red onion: I don't recommend omitting, but if you want something less intense, try shallot.
Cucumbers: No substitution; I typically use English cucumbers because they're easy to find.
Feta cheese: Or use goat cheese
Tzatziki sauce: For this, I used Greek yogurt, fresh dill, lemon juice, garlic, and cucumber. It's ready in 5 minutes, and the homemade version is much better than store-bought.
Instructions
Step 1: Cook quinoa. Add quinoa and water to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the quinoa until it's cooked, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Step 2: Prep the vegetables. While the quinoa is cooking, slice the tomatoes in half, dice the onion and then cut the cucumber into fourths.
Step 3: Make the tzatziki sauce: Add all of the ingredients to a small blender or food processor and pulse for a few seconds until mostly smooth.
Tips and tricks
- Always rinse quinoa before using it! To do so, simply add quinoa to a fine mesh strainer, then run cold water over it for at least 1 minute to remove any bitterness from it.
- To make the onion slightly less bitter, simply add it to a bowl and cover it with water for 10 minutes or so, then drain and rinse the onion before adding it to the recipe.
- I used my Nutribullet blender to make the tzatziki and it worked great.
- Feel free to add an extra clove of garlic to the tzatziki if you want it to be a little more garlicky.
What else could I add to this bowl?
Many things! If you want to bulk this bowl up, try adding kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced roasted red peppers, crunchy roasted chickpeas, cooked chicken, cooked kale or spinach, and/or a drizzle of olive oil over the entire bowl.
Should this be served warm or cold?
Either one! I typically eat it cold and Miguel typically warms it up -- it's totally up to you!
Quinoa salad pairs well with:
- Lamb Burgers
- Lemon Orzo Salad -- uses similar ingredients, so they're easy to prep together
- Baked Paleo Meatballs
- Baked Mediterranean Cod
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops
- Baked Caprese Chicken
Storage
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Meal prep: If you want to make this bowl for the week, add the quinoa to a container, the prepped veggies to a separate container and last, the tzatziki to a jar. Then, combine everything before you're ready to eat!
More Mediterranean recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
for the bowl:
- 2 cups quinoa cooked
- 1 cup cucumber sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- ¼ cup feta cheese or more
for the tzatziki sauce:
- ½ cucumber grated; moisture squeezed out
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon fresh dill
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- For the sauce: Grate cucumbers into a nut milk bag, or on top of a few paper towels, then squeeze the moisture out over the sink. Transfer the cucumbers to a bowl, then add the remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine; set aside.
- Divide the cooked quinoa into 2 bowls, then add the cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese on top.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons of tzatziki over the quinoa and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in May 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in June 2022.
Jordan says
I enjoyed adding this recipe to my collection of vegetarian bowls. I tossed in some pan fried tofu for protein. One thing I was too sure about, though, is using 4 cloves of garlic in the sauce - the garlic taste was much too strong for me. If I did it again, I'd use maybe 1 or 2 at most. Thanks for sharing though!
Diane says
Best Quinoa Bowl ever!
Lauren Gaskill | Making Life Sweet says
Of all the recipes I've seen this week, this is my favorite by far!! LOVE these quinoa bowls and pinning for later!
Janelle @ Wholly Healthy says
Yum - I love Greek food!
Beverley @ sweaty&fit says
the colors of this bowl are seriously drawing me in! and the sauce sounds so good plus i love how much healthier (and tastier) it would be than the store bought stuff. delicious!
Rachel @ athletic avocado says
I love mediterranean flavors, so this dish is calling my name!
Monique @ Bupees to Bubby says
I've never been to Nashville but have only heard great things about it! I have no idea what I want to do for my bachelorette party but I, too, feel badly for making people travel so we may stay more local near boston.
Erin says
You will have a blast regardless! I've never been to Boston so that sounds like a good time to me 🙂
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
Nashville will be a blast! Tennessee is such a beautiful state. And you know there will be lots of good music!
Also, I love the idea of a quinoa night. We're actually having it for dinner tonight so I think Wednesday should officially be Quinoa Day. I'm going to have to add this one to the rotation too because it sounds amazing! And your photos are gorgeous too, obvs. 😉
Erin says
Yes!! Wednesdays=quinoa day. DONE. Thanks Sarah!
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
OMG my best friend is going to Nashville this weekend for her bachelorette party! I'll have to ask her what she does.
And YES quinoa!!! I love it so much but for some reason I haven't been making it that often. That changes now!!
Erin says
Ahhh that's great--I'll have to ask you to ask her what she did/how it was 😀
Liora @ allthingsloveli says
This looks so fresh and delicious! I love replicating things I find in the store.. I agree... Homemade is always better!
Erin says
It really is though!
Anna says
I went to college in Nashville. I would check and see if there's any sort of music festival going on while you are there. There's lots of free music if you look for it, and even if you aren't a country music person, it's still fun to go. Although I have never been, I have heard good things about the Nashville Flea Market. If you want to get some hiking in, you could go to Foster Falls. It's amazing and they have challenging, but beautiful trails. It's a two hour drive one way, but it is so worth it.
I didn't go out to eat much because money, but I liked the Wild Cow. It's a vegetarian restaurant in East Nashville, and the prices are pretty reasonable for the quality of food you get. There's a coffee shop on the same street as it that has great coffee and tea.
Erin says
Thank you for the suggestions!
Kelly @ Kelly Runs For Food says
This is totally my kind of meal! And I'm lazy, so I'd probably buy the sauce haha.
I've never been to Nashville, but I watch the show, so...not the same, but that's a great idea either way. My best friend is getting married next year and I think we're going to rent a big house near Charlottesville on VRBO.
Erin says
Haha what... that's totally the same 😉 TV show...actual place. And that sounds so much fun!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I've never been to Nashville! That sounds fun!
I can't remember my bachelorette party......
Umm ANYWAY. I also want to eat more quinoa. I always forget about how much I LURVE it and these Mediterranean flavors are totally my jam!
Erin says
HAHA best bachelorette party ever